Closures for collapsible tubes containing paste



y 1956 v. R. SMITH 2,753,92

CLOSURES FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES CONTAINING PASTE Filed Feb. 21, 1952INVEN TOR. WAKE/VT 15? 5/14/76 ATTORNEY CLUSURES FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBESCUNTAENING PASTE Vincent R. Smith, New Milford, N.

Application February 21, 1952, Serial No. 272,862

4 Claims. (Cl. 222--545) This invention includes a closure deviceattachable or attached to a tube containing a paste and not removedtherefrom if at all until after the contents of the tube have beencompletely used. My device, therefore, takes the place of conventionalcaps which must be completely removed from such a tube every time aportion of a paste is extruded and often become lost. At best thereplacement of these caps is annoying and almost invariably results inuntidiness owing to a surplus of paste about the caps and the objectswhich they and the adjacent end of the tubes may touch. Inventors havelong attempted to devise such closures. Such efforts, so far as I amaware, have been ineffective because of the high cost of pro duction,the presence of projecting parts which caused trouble in production,packaging and operation, structure such that methods of and machineryfor tube manufacturing or filling must be changed, or design such thatthe paste is likely to dry and block a portion of a channel throughwhich it is supposed to be freely extruded. A principal object of thisinvention is to provide such a closure device which overcomes these andother disadvantages of the prior art.

Another chief object of my invention is the production of a highlyefficient threaded closure device adapted to be manufactured at anabsolute minimum of expense and applied to existing tubes either by aconsumer at a point of use or by a manufacturer at the point where thetubes are filled. This purpose therefore is to produce a simple closurewhich can be manufactured literallyfor a few mills which when applied toa tube remains thereon and serves as an efiicient closure until theentire contents of the tube are used. Thereafter it may be removed andused over and over again on other tubes. Alternatively, my closuredevice may be formed integrally with a tube and never removed therefrom.It is a matter of common knowledge that present separable caps for suchtubes are very often lost with consequent waste of the materials withinthe tubes. Whether lost or not, their use results in surplus paste beingsmeared about the orifice of the tube and objects touched thereby, tothe annoyane of neat users and careful housewives. According to thisinvention, paste is extruded from a side rather than the end of of theclosure as is more convenient when the material is being placed upon abrush.

Another important characteristic of this invention in aneasily-mountable closure which has the foregoing characteristics andadvantages is provision of an entirely smooth inner channel, also havingnovel shape, from the point of atachment to a top of a cap, so thatpaste cannot clog and thereafter become dry and hard and hence clog thepassageway. Another highly important object is to provide a simpletwo-part closure which is characterized by a single or multiple set ofinstrumentalities such as an annular ring or rings and cooperatingannu-.

l at grooves for their reception which act both as a mounting for one ofmy two members upon the other thereof and as a complete and adequateseal for the closure. Thus Tnited States Patent I one set of meansintegral with my two separate parts elliciently accomplishes a doublefunction.

Another important object of this invention, never before attempted sofar as I am aware, is to provide in a tube and closure, which need notbe bodily detached therefrom during use, structures and methods whichautomatically pull back into the tube the small amount of paste whicheven in a closure of this kind is extruded upon the orifice but notused. This object includes means and methods which suppress leakage frompressure previously applied. It is a matter of common knowledge that itis almost impossible for a user of a paste to squeeze out of a tubeexactly the right amount and then to place all of the extruded pasteupon a tooth or shaving brush, for example. An object of this inventionis automatically and without material expense or without any expensewhatsoever to pull this slight excess back into the tube so that when myclosure has been used and is turned to closed position, no surplusremains exterior to the device. Even without the use of these means andmethods my invention accomplishes in a practical manner longsoughtobjects of the prior art, but with them it completes the accomplishmentof these objects.

The business of manufacturing, packaging, selling and supplying tubes ofpaste is highly competitive. Consequently, a chief object of thisinvention is to accomplish all or the first-stated portion of theseobjects at a minimum cost, whether my device is distributed separatelyfor application as by a child or mechanically unskilled house wife andwithout the use of tools, or is applied interchangeably with the presenttype of caps in a factory or formed integrally with the body of thetube.

Other objects, advantages and characteristics will be evident from thefollowing portion of this specification, the accompanying drawings andthe subjoined claims. Although I am showing preferred forms only of myinvention, it will be understood that changes can readily be madewithout departing from the scope of my broader claims or the spirit ofmy invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the entire subject matter of amajor form of my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view partly broken away and in sectioncorresponding to the upper portion of Fig ure 1 and .showing only theinner of the two members of my invention.

Figure 3 is a top plan view corresponding to Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view corresponding to Fig-. ure 2 andshowing the outer of the two members of my closure.

Figure 5 is a top plan view corresponding to Figure 4.

In all figures for clarity the size of the closure in relation to thatof the tube is somewhat exaggerated.

For convenience in this specification and in the subjoined claimsorientation is that of the figures. By top and bottom, it will be seen,I mean respectively the portion of the tube of paste or cap which hasthe orifice and the one opposite thereto. Upper and lower have acorresponding significance. Vertical indicates a di rection from the topto the bottom of the tube or of my closure. The significance of innerand outer is obvious. Like terms are used with like meanings.

The portion of my invention making up the closure consists of twomembers only, an inner or discharge member attached, removably orotherwise, to the tube, and an outer member largely embracing androtatable upon the inner member. As shown for purposes of illustration,this inner member is screwed to the thread ordinarily formed on the topof a tube of paste thereby taking the place of a conventional removablecap, but it may be permanently joined to the tube. I much prefer to moldeach of these parts from a synthetic resin which is resilient, at leastslightly, but I may employ a suitable metal provided it is somewhatelastic, for reasons later appearing. Only one of the two members,preferably the outer, need have this resilience. Alternatively, undersome circumstances and less desirably, I may manufacture the outermember in two parts which are joined to each other after assembly withthe inner member. In this case resilience is not necessary.

My invention as a whole will be understood by consideration of Figure lwith reference to the other figures hereof for showings of detailedstructure. To a tube 11 having upper shoulders 13 and a male thread 15 Iapply my novel closure generally designated as 17 (Figure I). If thefull advantages of my invention are to be enjoyed, a vacuum or openspace 19 at the bottom of the tube is provided. The formation of thisopen space or vacuum requires no material change in present practice. Asis well known in this art tubes of paste are filled from the bottom andthereafter the bottom end of the tube is turned over upon itself and thesides pressed together to form a seal as indicated at 20. In my tubebetween this seal and the body of the paste a small open space is left,the expulsion of air thus generally creating a partial vacuum forpurposes later to be described. Alternatively, as hereinafter set forth,in place of this prefabricated open space, a user may readily accomplishat least a portion of the same result by manipulating a tube which hasbeen conventionally filled. Before describing this featurfe of myinvention I shall present my closure device itsel In the practice of myinvention, as previously explained, I prefer to utilize a material,preferably but not necessarily plastic, which has a slight amount ofresilience, the resilience of this material in cooperation with thehereinafter described construction accomplishing a result superior tothat ordinarily achieved by the more elaborate and less satisfactorydesigns of the prior art.

My closure includes an inner or relatively fixed discharge membergenerally indicated as 21. This element is provided with a centralvertical opening 23 which is completely smooth and without protrusionson its inner side which would cause clogging of the paste. Thus acompletely smooth and unbroken channel is provided. Upon its lowerportion this member is formed with a female interior thread 25 whichengages the previously-described male thread 15 of the top of the cap.An orifice 27 in vertical wall 28 shown at one side provides for theextrusion of the paste. Alternatively, an orifice offset from thelongitudinal axis of this opening could be found in the top wall 30. Forpurposes presently to-appear the top 31 of the inner member is inclinedupwardly away from the orifice.

An important element of this invention is an annular ring 33 formed onthe exterior of this inner member and slightly protruding from wall 28.For simplicity I show only one ring but in practice I may use aplurality, say two or three, each of course parallel to the other orothers and in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the structure.A stop 35 extends outwardly, likewise in a plane normal to said axis,and is preferably molded integrally with the inner member. I show stop35 as oblong with rounded corners, but it may be made in any practicableshape which is suitable for a casting or molding operation. This entirestructure, as previously stated, is preferably molded at one operationfrom a synthetic resin.

The outer or cap member generally indicated as is complementary to andlargely encloses inner member 21 as clearly seen in Figures 4 and 5. Aninner opening 41 the principal axis of which aligns with the verticalaxis of the tube is so positioned and dimensioned as to receive theinner member and closely engage the outer wall thereof. This opening 41is bounded by a vertical wall 42 unbroken except for an annular groove43, this groove eing of great importance in the practice of thisinvention, and an orifice 45. This groove receives and closely engagesand cooperates with annular ring 33 of the body member previouslydescribed. It is, of course, to be understood that the relativepositions of annular groove and annular ring may be transposed. It isimportant to note that the outer diameter of body member 21 and theinner diameter of cap member 40 are almost exactly the same, therelatively greater diameter of the outer opening being a matter of onlya very few thousandths of an inch at most, even .0005. In fact, owing tothe elasticity of the mating parts, the outside member may be slightlysmaller. The cap member is supplied with a chamfered orifice 45cooperating with opening 27 in the body member. A lower cut-out 49, sayof degrees, receives stop-pin 35 mounted upon or formed with the innermember.

If desired the outer wall 51 of the top 53 of the outer member may beknurled, but this expedient is not necessary because when my closure isoperated freedom from excess paste on the outer wall makes itpracticable for the user so firmly to grasp the entire outer member thatthe assistance of the knurled surface is superfluous.

The assembly of my device is most simple. A worker merely pushes cap 40over body member 21, the resilience of walls 28 and 42 being such thatthese walls give sutficiently so that the annular groove 43 slips intothe annular ring 33. Thereupon assembly is complete. This ring andgroove thereupon form both a seal against the exudation of paste and aguide upon which the outer member rotates. For rapidity of assembly asimple jig may be provided, or, alternatively, this operation of pushingone member on to the other in quantity production may be done byautomatic machinery. Although simple and quick when carried out by handoperation, use of automatic machinery is desirable.

When a user is supplied with my device in this form he merely unscrewsthe cap which is provided with an ordinary tube, throws it away andscrews my closure device on the thread previously used for the discardedcap. As a matter of practice, he screws my device on relatively tightly,but my closure, even when not tightly screwed in place, is operated byso little force that it is really not necessary to worry about theclosure becoming loose from the top until the contents have beenexhausted and the user wishes to remove it preparatory to placing itupon another tube. It is of course obvious that my closure may either besold as a separate item or furnished with tubes supplied by amanufacturer, in the latter case taking the place of the usual cap.

I have shown my closure device as an independent unit adapted to be usedrepeatedly upon any tube of paste the top of which. is supplied with aconventional screw thread. Alternatively, my closure may be applied atthe factory as a permanent part of a tube. Under such conditions threads15 and 25 need not be supplied and the closure is permanently attachedto the neck 13 of a tube. The cost is little more than that of theconventional screw cap and its threaded mounting.

The use of this phase of my invention will have been made clear by theforegoing description. In operation a user merely turns outer cap 40until the orifices 27 and 45 are in alignment, the stop and the end ofits opening having engaged, and then squeezes the tube so that thedesired amount of the paste is extruded. He closes the tube merely byrotating the cap so that the orifices are not in alignment. Preferablythe threads are so arranged that 1 opening movement is counter-clockwiseand closing movement clockwise, as with a conventional threaded cap.Thus no established psychological pattern in the user need be broken.The seal caused by annular rings 33 and annular grooves 43 serve both asthe mounting for the outer seal.

If desired, another important element may be practiced as a part of thisinvention. I have discovered that if an open space or partial vacuum issupplied at the bottom of the tube after the paste is extruded throughthe aligned openings and before the cap is rotated to closed position,the small amount of paste exterior to the aligned openings is forcedback into the tube, thus removing from the outer orifice even the slightquantity of paste which might remain there. The smooth nature of theentire channel through which the paste moves makes this operationpossible. It appears probable that this result is accomplished bygreater air pressure upon the paste at the opening than upon the pasteat the bottom of the column. Also it is possible that when ample spaceis left at the bottom of the tube the cohesive quality of the pastepulls back this slight surplus, no doubt assisted by air pressure.Whatever the exact physics of the operation it is highly useful inavoiding even a small surplus at the outer orifice.

If desired, therefore, the tube to which my invention is applied may befilled at the factory with a vacuum or open space or chamber 19 at thebottom thereof, thus realizing the full advantages of my invention fromthe outset of its use. Alternatively, however, I have discovered thatthe user himself after the use of a very small quantity of the contentsof a conventional fully filled tube may enjoy all of the advantages ofthe practice of the full invention. The purveyors of pastes oftenrecommend that as the paste is used, the end of the tube be rolled backupon itself so that there is a firm foundation as it were for the columnof the paste remaining. In the full practice of this invention, however,with a tube completely filled at a factory a contrary method isemployed. A user always leaves a small portion of the lower part of thetube untouched after the paste is extruded therefrom thus providing asmall space with at least a partial vacuum into which excess paste maybe pulled back. The user may wind up the lower edge of the tube as he isurged to do at present so long as he leaves a small space free frompaste. If, however, a large unoccupied space is left at the bottom, asrelatively large quantities of the paste are used, this result is notobtained.

Thus it is possible without departing from established manufacturingpractice for a user without difficulty to create an open space orpartial vacuum as he proceeds to use the contents of a tube andsubstantially completely avoid even a slight excess of paste at thepoint of closure. I emphasize that the use of my closure is in no waydependent upon the provision of this open space. I have found that thismethod does not operate with closures from which the paste is extrudedother than at substantially a right angle to the vertical axis of atube.

As stated, I prefer to incline the top wall 31 of inner member 21upwardly from a point adjacent the top of orifice 27 to its junctionwith the top of the opposite portion of side wall 28. l have found thatthis configuration is of assistance both in the step of drawing backinto the tube a slight excess of paste left around the opening and alsoin the optimum operation of my device even when a partial vacuum is notemployed. With an inclined upper wall there is less tendency for even aslight surplus of paste to be extruded at the time pressure is released.Also, in my device when the orifice is opened and before pressure isapplied no paste is extruded. In tubes with conventional closures,however, pressure remaining from a previous operation is likely toexpell a small quantity of paste as soon as a cap is removed. in theordinary operation of pressing paste out of a tube after pressure isrelaxed it is usual that a small amount of paste exudes. This amounteven without this inclined wall is less in my device than in a tubeprovided with a conventional closure but this slight surplus is reducedalmost to the vanishing point when this top wall is slanted in thismanner. My explanation of what has been found to happen is that theangular cavity created by the rightward junction as shown in Figures 1and 2 of top wall 31 and the inner surface of wall 28 does not becomecompletely filled owing to the easier egress of the paste through theopening 27 while pressure upon the tube 11 is maintained, but does serveas a place of deposit for excess which otherwise would be forcedoutwardly. Apparently repeated use of the tube with my closure does notcompletely fill this excess space.

The advantages of my invention will be clear from the above portion ofthis specification, the drawings attached hereto and made a part hereofand the subjoined claims. These advantages include the provision of aninexpensive and efiicient closure for tubes of paste and means andmethod of removing from the orifice of the closure all but a mere traceof paste which has been extruded and not used.

I claim:

1. A closure device consisting of an inner cylindrical member having acentral opening with a vertical wall and an orifice at right angles tosuch opening, said inner memher being adapted to be attached to the topof a collapsible tube, an upper wall bounding the top of said opening,said upper wall being inclined from a line adjacent the top of saidorifice upwardly to a junction with said vertical wall opposite to andabove said orifice, an outer cylindrical member fitting over said innermember and rotatable thereupon and having an orifice which upon suchrotation is aligned with said orifice of said inner member, and meansfor mounting said outer member upon said inner member.

2. In a closure device for tubes containing paste, an inner cylindricalmember and an outer cylindrical member, said inner member being adaptedfor attachment to an orifice in the top of a tube of paste and having acentral cylindrical vertical discharge opening alignable with saidorifice of said tube and an orifice communicating with said dischargeopening, the upper wall of said central opening being inclined from aline adjacent the top of said orifice upwardly to a junction with theinner wall of said opening opposite to and above said orifice, saidouter member having a central opening adapted to receive therewithinsubstantially all of said inner member, the exterior walls of said inneropening and the interior walls of said outer opening being disposedclosely adjacent each other and at least one of said walls beingslightly resilient, annular mounting and sealing formations disposedcircumferentially of each of said walls in a plane normal to saidopenings, one of said formations being male and the other being female,said resilience being sufiicient so that when said outer member isforced upon said inner member said formations engage and said outermember is firmly held against bodily movement away from said innermember and may be rotated thereupon to bring said openings intoalignment, a stop member projecting from one of said members toward theother thereof and entering a cut-out portion of said wall of said othermember, the length of said cut-out portion thereby limiting the rotationof said member relatively to said inner member.

3. As a new product of manufacture, a collapsible tube and operableclosure means therefor; said collapsible tube having a side wall andincluding permanent closure means at the bottom thereof wherein theopposite parts of said side wall of said tube are pressed closelytogether, a space free from paste being disposed between said permanentclosure means and the bottom of a column of paste within said tube and aneck being disposed at the top of said tube above the column of paste insaid tube, said neck being provided with an opening; said closure meanscomprising a clear channel upon a vertical axis leading from the openingof said neck at the top of said column of paste within said tube to anorifice at right angles to said vertical axis of said tube, an innervertical wall bounding said opening, an outer vertical wall mounted forrotation upon said inner wall and closely adjacent thereto, an orificedisposed in said outer wall which may be brought into alignment withsaid orifice in said inner wall upon the rotation of said outer wallupon said inner wall whereby an opening is provided and brought out ofalignment by rotation of said outer wall so that a solid portion thereofis disposed opposite said inner orifice, the diameters of said orificesbeing much less than that of the opening of said neck, said walls beingdisposed closely adjacent each other, and an upper wall disposedadjacent said inner wall near the top thereof and bounding the innerupper portion of said closure means, said last mentioned wall extendingbetween opposite sides of said vertical inner wall generallyhorizontally but inclined at an angle extending downwardly toward theupper portion ofthe orifice of said wall thus providing a recess, aslight surplus of paste which is left adjacent the outer portion of saidorifice after paste has been extruded after saidorifices are inalignment being moved back inwardly of said tube into said recess andoperable closure.

4. A closure for a tooth paste tube comprising an inner tubular capelement having an egress part and being adapted to be attached to theneck of said tube and extend therefrom, an outer tubular cap elementslidable axially over said inner element and having an egress partregistrable with said first mentioned egress part, and being rotatableon said inner element to align said parts, one of said elements having acircumferential groove and the other of said elements having acircumferential ridge slidably and sealingly fitting in said groove,said ridge and groove coaction serving to join said elements and tomaintain a seal therebetween wherein said outer element is supported onsaid inner element, at least one of said elements being resilientwhereby said elements may be joined by telescoping one into the other sothat said ridge snaps into said groove and is resiliently held therein,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

